The invention relates to managing bandwidth in digital communication.
In typical digital communication, signals can be transmitted over a finite range of bandwidths, referred to as a pipe. Generally, a program or event, the relevant aggregate unit of content data, uses a specific portion of total pipe bandwidth during a specified period of time. For example, Program A might use 4 Mbps from 6 pm to 7 pm.
The pipe is not always used to its capacity. An event to which bandwidth has been allocated for a given period of time may not fill the bandwidth or it may fill the bandwidth for a shorter period. Unused bandwidth may be referred to as opportunistic bandwidth.